The Secret Beneath The Waves

Chapter 2: The Spanish Bull

*Picture of Adri at the top

Chapter Two - The Spanish Bull

"Timothy, don't upset the lady" another old man chided, a matching sardonic expression painted on his face. There were tattoos stretching up and down his arms. Spencer couldn't remember his name if her life depended on it. "Must you all be so mind-numbingly sexist?" a voice said from behind her, in a terrible victorian-era British accent. Spencer squeezed her eyes shut, expecting to be further embarrassed. A girl walked up on her left side. "It's the twenty-first century dimwits " she said, ditching the accent. Another man strode up to her. "Sweetheart-" he was quickly cut off, by the girl stomping up to him and looking at him straight in the eye, an achievement considering she only came up to his collarbone at best.

"I am not a sweetheart. My name is Adrianna. Call me that, or don't speak to me. Got it?" The man sneered. "Sweetie," He cocked an eyebrow, a habit that really pissed Spencer off. "Your opinion isn't something that matters to me in the least." He extended his arms, to show them both the numerous tattoos stretching up and down his arms. "This is a wing for many people. Men." he said slowly. It was obvious that he was clearly trying to show off his numerous tattoos.

Adrianna, who Spencer decided, would now be called Adri in her mind, crossed her arms. "There's nothing manly about scribbling all over yourself like a three year old" she said. There was a pause before laughter erupted all around the lab, and the man exhaled sharply. He looks like a bull, in one of those old Spanish bull fights Spencer mused. The man turned towards her, glaring. "What did you say?" he snarled. "What we were all thinking" Adri said, as she dragged Spencer away, and back to her lab station.

I have got to work on that Spencer thought, mentally smacking herself on the forehead. "Yes, you do" Adri agreed, as she walked back to her own lab area, a few cubicles away. Spencer passed the last half hour of work hours, slumped down in her chair, staring at the elephant-sized stack of papers that had accumulated on her desk.

As the last of the workers got up to leave, Spencer was shaken awake by a gentle hand on her shoulder. Mumbling something, she fell back asleep-before being roughly whacked on the head. Lifting her head up, she saw the extremely exasperated face of Adri looking at her, (she'd been seeing that look alot that day). "Come on sleeping beauty" Adri said, tugging at her elbow, and leading her out of the lab, and to her own "bubble."

The Shoreline Research Group's Atlantic Ocean Team had a boat built like a cruise ship, though smaller. The top deck, was where the captain (sadly, Andrew) and any important guests or visitors stayed. The second and third decks, were rooms, that were more like mini apartments for each of the biologists, technicians and other scientists. The floor below was where the labs were.

The door opened to a row of hooks for coats and raincoats, and fanned out, to show a circular room, improvised as a living room, with a TV and small study in the back.Which, was why they called it a bubble. A curved divider a bit farther back, made a kitchen, and a door farther in the right corner of the room, lead to the bedroom, which had a walk-in closet, bathroom, twin bed, and a bookshelf. A bullet proof window, about the size of a coffee table, took up most of the back wall of the kitchen, and the pale moon's reflection shone brightly on the gentle waves of the Southern Atlantic Ocean.

"Hey" she said, and Adri turned around. "Thanks," she smiled, "For you know, standing up for me, with those guys." Adri shrugged, "I used to have another friend, a girl, who also worked in the genetics area and everything. Got a PhD from Caltech too, Valedictorian of her school class, all rounder, everything. Quit after 3 days, because their comments finally got to her, and she couldn't do it anymore." She shook her head. "Sometimes people value others opinions of them, over their own. It's the saddest thing of all. Especially when girls do, because they deem themselves 'inferior' to guys" As if shaking herself out of a stupor, she smiled abruptly.

"Goodnight Spencer," she said, giving a mock salute, Adri walked out, "Goodnight Adri" Spencer heard herself say, and the footsteps stopped. "Adri?" Adrianna's quizzical voice came from the doorway. "Yeah" Spencer said apologetically, "I'm sorry, it just slipped out and-" she was cut off by Adri's comment. "Nah, it's all good." Adri smiled. "It's been a long time since anyone called me that." Nodding, Spencer shut the door behind her. 

***************************************************************************************

If you guys have any questions for me, please contact me via my website. t also includes some information about me, my book recommendations, quizzes created by yours truly and more. Please go check it out!

https://ananya-writes.webnode.com/contact/

~Ananya Ramesh 

***************************************************************************************